No horn please! (Honking Menace)

This is a discussion on No horn please! (Honking Menace) within Street Experiences, part of the Buckle Up category; Originally Posted by amohit
OT: Just wanted to know what you guys do in the ghat section? Do you honk ...

OT: Just wanted to know what you guys do in the ghat section? Do you honk at the blind curves (and not so blind curves)?How are such situations handled in western, more developed countries?

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Regards,

In other countries roads are properly marked and everybody observes lane driving strictly. So there is no need to honk even on the most severe hill roads. I used to think how these guys will drive if they are given a road without any lane markings! I am sure there will be total chaos!

Btw, I also don't use horn for quite some time. Would have used it only a couple of times in the last 6 months.

Yes, I agree that cabbies make the most noise when it comes to honking.

Wonder what will happen when the autos are replaced by Nanos. Horrendous decibel levels, for sure. Maybe the Nano cabs should be offered with the "peeeep" of a rick. They are much quieter in comparison.

31K & 10 times? You must be kidding unless you're driving during midnights & early mornings OR you're driving out of Pune. Can't really believe this.

I honk when people make mistakes are stand on my way. The most irritable ones are the cabbies, who honk for no reason; I witnessed several times that cabbies honk even when there're no one on the road & I go burst in laughing as why they're honking. Guess that's integral part of their driving.

I used to give a challenge to airport cabbies here in Bangalore. Last time I told the Easycab driver that if he can drive the entire distance of about 50 kms to airport without a single honk, I will give him Rs50 extra! But he failed miserably. Tried a couple of times earlier as well. Most of them were not even ready to take up the challenge

@appuchan - i understand this is an old thread, but still, my heartfelt congratulations to you; AND to all others who use horns minimally. like a lot of others here I too hate unnecessary honking, especially at signals. earlier it used to shoot up my BP and have indulged in fights / showering of abuses etc. but over the years, i have learnt to ignore and keep my calm. and yes, i have minimized the honking myself to about 80% atleast.

I generally post very less though i am a long time member of TBHP, but i make it a point that i participate in any kind of discussion and polls which talks about the honking menace.

What about the reverse horn! every Alto/Santro kind of vehicles esp the new once get it as factory fitment. had a terrible time when some apartment residents nearby my place bought the car and the idiots would take hell lot of time to reverse from their parking spot and all the while the reverse horn keeps blaring...mind you this is around 5-6am

I have been seriously considering designing a sticker which says "Honk, if your A** is on fire" and stick it on the bumper. It wont work with the cabbies but it should work with the "Educated" drivers in Bangalore.

As much as I hate to honk, I often find the need to honk in the Bangalore traffic, courtesy the free willed Volvo and cab drivers.

There is massive construction work going on all over B'lore - be it flyovers, underpasses or Metro. So, whenever traffic piles up, Volvos and cabs try to squeeze in whatever space there is; in the process threatening to damage your car.

As irritating as it is, one inevitably has to honk to inform them of your presence!

Late evenings, I try to use the high beam flash more.

The day we have more lane discipline, I'm sure the no. of "horn"y people would come down!

Excessive use of the horn on our roads is more the rule than the exception. The ubiquitous horns and overall sheer noise levels on our roads make me wonder how we've staved off going deaf for so long. It is terrible to experience, especially when viewed in comparison with any even slightly more developed country.

The same goes for the horrible screechy sing tones and ring tones that people have on their mobile phones. Add to this the fact that in general we just have a habit of talking very very loudly. Possibly to make ourselves heard over and above the ambient noise around us!

Then the complete lack of lane discipline, disregard for politeness and road manners coupled the fact that most drivers on the road have simply not been taught any better, just makes things even worse. Everyone is in a hurry - running like lemmings towards they know not what.

Then there is this apparent attitude we Indians generally have; 'seeking nirvana for the self' i.e; 'I shall go first at the cost of everyone else and to he** with the consequences'. Most of us are reluctant to yield the right of way to anyone else - possibly on account of the fear that the minute that chap passes he will be replaced by someone else and we are likely to be stuck there for the foreseeable future. Same logic applies to our marked disinclination to join or respect the queue system. Its always something like - "Im more important than you, hence I dont need to be in queue".

Basic etiquette training and teaching needs to be hardwired into the curriculum from a very early age in the schools and enforced in some way - maybe using negative marking for bad behaviour or non adherence to etiquette standards or something.
If we begin now, we might see a difference over the next 2 generations, give or take.

actually if you drive with concentration and anticipate as much as possible ahead, you really dont need to use the horn.
really, the noise levels here are frighteningly horrific in comparison with practically most other places in the developed world.
wish we could cut down the decibels. Even in 'quiet' residential areas we have the mad honkers and blaring music types buzzing around. We honk and make lots of noise near hospitals and other places where we should show greater consideration.
really,methinks we Indians need some really drastic measures like force fed etiquette education or something.

Honks will not be used in India, when everybody follows the lane discipline. In India, particularly in Chennai, every one has their right to drive on their sweet spot(lane) and also they have all the rights to change them too. Not only the people with vehicle, but also the pedestrians with their vehicles(mobile) in hand.

But more morons dont make use of the honks at the right place, the pass switch or the indicators. They turn to the left or right on their own choice without seeing the RVM too. And if we brake hard on them, those rascals give a stern look and ask us what is the hurry/why driving very fast in this road!!!

Very phunny. They do the mistake and put the blame on us.

To avoid all these rants, I use the honks excessively. But do make sure, not using them near hospitals and residential areas. By this behaviour, everybody around me is safe.

Can we start a campaign of No-horn please within t-bhp, where people can sign up a pledge? Is there a way people can login the number of honks he makes a day? And we can see if it comes to zero over a period of time. We can make a difference! We can have a FairPlay kind of award as well. It will turn into a fad, build patience in ourselves. Like someone said: follow a cycle without honking till you get good clearance to circumvent him. Dont blast him out, please! Not fair.

I will never forget the funny story of the late TRRK going out for a long trip and finally at the end of the trip honking the only time in the whole trip for the watchman to open the gate!

My numbers are 0-2 in a day and the 2 comes in when someone does a wrong (e.g on an right signal the person on the left lane takes the exaggerated turn and lands in front of me and I was sticking to the rightmost lane. People do this at "U"s as well. Just imagine!) and I want to tell him about it, never to move forward or bully someone.